RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Backstory:
Born in 92 AD in Petra, Omar saw the annexation of the Nabataean kingdom by the Emperor Trajan as a teenager. Rather than live under the Roman yoke, Omar fled into the desert and was believed to have traveled through a dimensional portal in Egypt.
Born 122 AD in Augustodunum, Corio was a renowned blacksmith for the Roman legion until he was kidnapped by alien cyborgs and sent through an interdimensional portal to the 28th century AD where he is condemned to fight as a gladiator in a futuristic cybercolosseum.
Born 341 AD in Kobe, Ken is a disgraced samurai who traveled to Rome seeking new combatants, hoping to die with glorious honour in a crowded colosseum.
Born 1989 AD in Damascus, Raya is a rebellious teenage genius who fled the chaotic and oppressive 21st century AD by reciting ancient incantations at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, which opened an interdimensional portal to the 3rd century AD. Now she is living her dream as a style consultant for the Empress Zenobia.
Born in 288 BC in Terme, Anais was blessed by the Goddess Minerva with the power of telepathy. She learned about interdimensional travel by reading the mind of a priest who she forced to send a group of her Amazonian sisters to a Romanesque 28th century AD dominated by women.
Born 398 AD in a herd of nomads, Fejjer was captured by slave traders and sold to a zombie hunting legion in sub-Saharan Africa where he met a dimension hopping drug dealer with carnal knowledge of his estranged sister, Takuka.
Born in 44 BC in Eblana, Conchar is a POW captured in Britain and forced to fight as a gladiator. With an unblemished record of wins, he drew the attention of time traffickers and was portaled to the 28th century AD to fight in the cybercolosseum.
Born in 242 AD in Mediolanum, Alexa Servilianus quickly rose through the ranks of Emperor Aurelian’s legion in Germany after stepping into a dimension portal in Lake Como and returning equipped and skilled with the lightsaber.
Born 141 AD in Burdigala, Lur, an acolyte of the Bishop of Lyon, called out Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ stoic philosophy as heresy and was condemned to toil in the wheat fields as punishment. Despite the enslavement, Lur found solace in his love for animals and the teachings of Jesus Christus.
Born 390 AD in Jutland, Cyra is an interdimensional traveler attempting to change history by turning the tide of battle in the Cimbrian War by seeking out her ancestor, Brenna, and sharing knowledge and technology from the future to defeat Marius.
Born in 261 AD in Olisipo, Dobiteina and her husband Arco are time slaves who toiled as resurrection gladiators in a distant time and place. After living thousands of lifetimes, they escaped and returned to the 3rd century AD where they triumphed with advanced tactics and equipment in the colosseum.
Born 2010 AD in Alalia, Kael is the silver-spoon heir of a techno-aristocratic family with deep Roman and Punic roots. Restless within his luxurious cybernetic world, he sought adventure beyond his privileged life. During a voyage across the Tyrrhenian Sea with his love, Sienna Elara, a sudden whirlpool transported them to an alternate Roman realm dominated by sentient apes. Stripped of status, Kael must navigate a society where humans are subjugated, forging uneasy alliances with sympathetic apes and confronting the authoritarian simian rulers. His wit and resilience are tested as he strives to survive, challenge the oppressive ape hierarchy, and find a way back home.
Born in 48 AD in Ravenna, Eunice is an expert knife fighter who is known to have killed dozens of men in self defense before joining the IV Legion. Loyal to Otho, she participated in the assassination of Emperor Galba, but was later forced to flee into an interdimensional portal to escape capture by Vitellius.
Born 222 BC in Carthage, Addicus, a veteran of the Second Punic War, was enslaved by Scipio’s legionnaires after losing the Battle of Zama. As punishment, he was sent through an interdimensional portal to toil as a public servant in the effete, benighted 22nd century AD kingdom of Neo-Carthage where he now languishes as a bitter, cynical, brooding alcoholic.
Born 209 BC in Ancyra, Cinderella and her husband, Artox, were transported by unknown forces to the 33rd century AD where she manages his cyber x-games career and operates a lucrative gambling ring.
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© 2023 RomanPunks NFT
romanpunks@protonmail.ch
Registered in Ontario, Canada
